Chapter 6 Conservation Goals and Priorities
6.6.2.3 Haliwa-Saponi Tribe Members of the Haliwa-Saponi Tribe are direct descendants of the Saponi, Tuscarora, Tutelo, and Nansemond Indians, and it is the third largest tribe in North Carolina. Tribal members live primarily in the northeast Piedmont area traditionally known by their elders as “The Meadows.” This area encompasses most of the southwestern part of Halifax County and southeastern part of Warren County. Members also live in adjoining Franklin and Nash counties (NCCIA 2025, Haliwa Saponi Indian Tribe 2025) . The tribe’s website is https://www.haliwa-saponi.org. 6.6.2.4 Lumbee Tribe The ancestors of the Lumbee were mainly Cheraw and related Siouan-speaking Indians who were first observed in 1724 on the Drowning Creek (Lumbee River) in present-day Robeson County. In 1887, the state established the Croatan Normal Indian School, which today is the University of North Carolina at Pembroke (NCCIA 2025) . The Lumbee Tribe is the largest tribe in North Carolina, the largest tribe east of the Mississippi River and the ninth largest in the nation. The Lumbee Tribe takes its name from the Lumber River, originally known as the Lumbee, which winds its way through Robeson County (NCCIA 2025) . More information is available from the tribe’s website https://www.lumbeetribe.com. 6.6.2.5 Meherrin Tribe According to the NCCIA (2025), “the Meherrin People, also known as Kauwets’a·ka (People of the Water), are an Iroquois Nation closely related to the Tuscarora, also known as Skarù ·rę ʔ (Hemp - Splitters), with whom they share a language, cultural ties, and a history of once being part of a people who long ago traveled East to the rising sun and took up residence in North Carolina. These people would go on to be known as Kahtehnuʔá ·ka·ʔ (People of the Submerged Pine Tree), and it is from these people that the Nations of Kauwets’a·ka and Skarù ·rę ʔ would emerge. In 1680, Meherrin Chiefs Ununtequero and Horehannah signed an Addendum to the 1677 Treaty of Middle Plantation, which established two reservations for the Meherrin: Kauwitzihocken (Cowinchawkon), and Menderink. Over time, the Meherrin relocated downstream to the Meherrin towns of Unote and Tawarra, and eventually settled in present- day Maneys Neck, formerly known as Meherrin Neck. In 1726, the NC General Assembly assigned a reservation to the Meherrin, and in 1729, “An Act for the More Quiet Settling the Bounds of the Meherrin Indian Lands” expanded their reservation to include the confluence of the Chowan and Meherrin Rivers.” The Merrin Indian Tribe website (https://meherrinnation.org) and the NCCIA website (2025) reports that the Meherrin Tribal members primarily reside in Hertford, Bertie, Northampton and Gates counties.
6 - 58
2025 NC Wildlife Action Plan
Made with FlippingBook Ebook Creator